Written by

Jinelle Shengulette
Staff writer

If Kathy Turiano has a question about the Nicaraguan coffees she sells at Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, she can dial up her Central American suppliers directly.

The University Avenue coffee and espresso bar, which features hand-brewed coffee roasted onsite, has a direct trade relationship with Gold Mountain Farms in Nicaragua, meaning that the buyers and farmers negotiate prices and are in direct communication.

Ben Turiano, Kathy's son, met a representative from the farm at a roaster's retreat in Vermont in 2009. ...